What are the chances?
by CLDJendis66
Summary: Keith returns from his encounter with the Blade of Marmora and informs the team of his lineage. It creates tension between him and the team, but he's not surprised. He's fine with things being left as is. Lance on the other hand, won't stand by this and decides to do something about it.


When Keith had returned from his encounter with the Blade of Marmora, Lance automatically knew something was off, but he didn't think he'd learn the reason so soon; especially when Keith summoned the team to the common room to tell them something.

"I'm… look I've only just learned this myself and I have no explanation for it, but I'm part Galra."

Everyone was silent; though, Lance's reaction caught them all off guard.

"Are you bleeding?" he asked as he walked over to Keith like nothing had changed.

"It's not a big deal. I'll be fine."

Lance threw his arms up upon closer inspection. "I can't believe you! Come on, I'm taking you to the healing pods," he declared as he dragged Keith away by his uninjured arm, ignoring the dumbfounded looks on their friends' faces.

As much as Keith wanted to protest, he honestly couldn't. He was so mentally and physically exhausted from the challenge he'd gone through that he was actually glad at how Lance was doing this for him. Speaking of which…

"Um… thanks for that. Not judging me I mean."

At that Lance slowed a bit to look behind him at Keith with a raised eyebrow before chuckling and staring ahead again. "Dude, I live in the city of diversity. It's totally normal to me. Even if your kind involved shitty people, it's not like anyone else is any different. You're still you, even if means I have to stare at that mullet of yours for eternity."

"Hey!"

Lance merely grinned. He preferred Keith irritated over solemn and worried, so getting a reaction out of him was a good sign that he wasn't spacing out from feeling uncomfortable.

"It's kinda nostalgic walking in here like this," Keith mentioned as they entered the location of the healing pods.

"Wait… why?"

"It's nothing."

Lance stared at Keith suspiciously before sighing. "I'm only letting this go because you're still bleeding out and that needs attention first. Now get in, I gotta set up the pod to molecularize your gear and replace it with whatever alteans consider hospital clothing."

At that Keith chuckled and made a small smile. Of all the people that could make him feel normal right now, he was glad it was Lance.

The pod he was standing by hissed open and Keith stepped inside, shivering slightly from the sensation of the cold air rushing out.

"Got it. You'll be good as new in a few hours."

* * *

Sleepiness took over before Keith could say thank you, but Lance smiled as if he had.

It wasn't long until Lance noticed the princess' reaction towards the news from Keith, which turned out to be a lot worse than expected as well as frustrating. Her attitude of acting as if he didn't exist was rather overwhelmingly surprising, especially since Shiro had been more exposed to the evils of the empire compared to any of the other Paladins and yet she'd had no trouble accepting him as a Paladin when they'd all found Voltron.

Leaving the situation to ease with time did no good either and after a certain event, Lance had had enough.

The team was scattered across the ship doing daily tasks or hobbies to help pass the time. Keith and Lance happened to be in the room calibrating the weapon system for accuracy after Coran had shown them how to before going off to do some maintenance on the engine. Allura had been going over some maps of Galra bases the Blade of Marmora had given her in exchange as a starting place of mutual trust, but was having trouble deciding where to start first in regards to a plan of action in ridding the areas of the empire's presence. She walked over to Lance to ask for his thoughts on what she was considering, "This area seems quite small, however the environments are harsh and may makes things difficult whereas this area here is easier to move around in, but extensively populated. Any ideas?"

Nevertheless, it wasn't Lance who answered.

"If we go to the smaller region, we could gain experience with the challenge from the environment and have less likelihood of being spotted by the enemy in such a vulnerable state."

"Did I ask you for your opinion?"

"Well, seeing as you always insist on everyone working together, I thought my input might be of some help."

"I can do just fine without it."

"Are you f—"

"Enough! BOTH OF YOU!" shouted Lance, who was indefinitely upset over this, but kept his cool. He turned to Keith first. "Honestly, you took the words right out of my mouth, so nice job on that," he commented before turning to Allura. "Princess, if I haven't made it obvious enough, I'm in agreement with Keith's thoughts. That being said, would you be willing to join me on a walk to the observatory deck?"

He knew she didn't want to be near Keith for whatever reason, but he was also aware that he'd made her realize that she'd stepped out of line earlier with her remark. "Yes. That would be…fine."

Lance held out his arm and she gently placed a hand on it. He turned to Keith, "I'll be back in a bit, so you can rest for a little while. Calibrating's a pain either way."

Keith rolled his eyes, but was smiling regardless as he crossed his arms. "Sure. Don't take too long."

"Yeah, yeah," Lance assured as he exited the room.

* * *

Silence filled the air between them as they walked before Allura broke it. "Is this another attempt at your flirting Lance?"

"Trust me Princess, I wouldn't be so serious if it was."

When they reached their destination, a small table with two chairs awaited them.

She was still unsure, but given his response earlier she didn't protest when he insisted she take a seat. He soon sat at the other end and leaned on the palm of his hand while his elbow rested on the table. "Come on Allura, out with it. Why are you being so different around Keith?"

It caught her off guard. She figured that being the leader of the paladins meant that they would possibly leave the subject alone, yet here was Lance, demanding a clear answer that she'd been constantly avoiding herself.

She stayed quiet as she tried to find the words, but Lance added on to his previous statement. "You treat him like he betrayed us and that he doesn't belong here, when before the Blade of Marmora, you were both getting along just fine."

Finally she sighed, and mirrored his position. "You're right. I've been behaving like a child and projecting the traumas of losing my home and people on him."

"But why Keith specifically? What about Shiro?"

"I…I honestly never considered that, especially since he looks so calm."

Lance chuckled. "He's good at that it seems, but PTSD is hard to get over for anyone."

"I guess I felt like I should've known about Keith's lineage? The suddenness overwhelmed me. It made me feel as if I was reliving welcoming Zarkon into my life again, disguised as a friend. Just like he did with my father…" her voice trailed off and she found herself… trembling? She wanted to stop it and pull off looking strong, but just talking of the subject was tiresome. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey, look at me," Lance requested as he placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "You've got skills and beauty and you've also got room to grow. I've lost people before, so I can relate to the sensation, but it doesn't do anyone any good to project on someone who had nothing to do with it, simply because they remind you of the event. Trust me, I know it's hard, but the least you can do is let him know."

Allura sighed again and stared up into the observatory, a small smile tugging at her face. "Did you bring me here because of the fact that I like sparkly things?"

Lance grinned. "Well, I figured you'd be able to not feel so overwhelmed if you were in a comfortable space."

Her smile grew. "I think you did well in your strategy."

Lance fist pumped in victory at succeeding in convincing the princess to chill down and look at the situation with a wider view. Truth be told, it was something he could relate to. In the past, he'd had two cousins born from a terrible aunt and uncle who'd done a lot of horrible things to his family; everyone for a while treated them as if they were just as guilty. His reaction to do the same had been influenced by others, but general curiosity of trying to know who they were ended up leading him to discover that they were very much their own character as well as much better than their parents ever were. That experience alone had taught him that just because one or more can fit the profile of someone you can't trust, doesn't necessarily mean that they really are untrustworthy.

He stood up after some moments of silence and held his arm out in a dramatic bow. "Ready to go m'lady?"

Allura chuckled at the sight, but quickly complied when she stood up and gently placed her hand on it to be led out of the room and towards the elevator.

* * *

Keith had been analyzing the instructions Coran gave him and Lance earlier to double check if their efforts had been done correctly so far when he heard a "whoosh" from a door opening. Allura walked through as he looked up, still ticked off by her attitude earlier, but not wanting to say anything out of preference of the current peace over dealing with unreasonable loudness.

Her expression was different though. For one thing, she was looking a lot calmer and even made eye contact with him, which surprised him, given how she'd been so odd lately as well mean.

In noticing Lance not being with her he quirked an eyebrow. "Where's Lance?"

"He got delayed with something, but he'll be here soon."

"'Kay."

Silence stretched for a few moments as he went back to work before Allura spoke again. "Um… Keith?"

He'd gotten distracted looking at something under his controls, so when he heard his name, it caught him off guard and he bonked his head against a panel. "Ow…"

"Quiznak, are you alright?!"

As Keith exited out of the small compartment he ended up chuckling because it was sudden how warm it felt with Allura acting normal around him again. "Yeah, I'm fine princess, but you wanted to say something?"

She looked down as if in shame before she became determined and looked up at him again with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry for my demeanor lately. It truly wasn't fair to you. In learning about your lineage I ended up projecting my hate for Zarkon on you because my father had welcomed him to our family without any concern of betrayal until that fateful day. I should've acknowledged this sooner, but I'm here now and I want to do right by you as a friend."

Keith hadn't expected her to do this at all and in hearing her speak, he understood better her situation, even though it could've been marked as childish. Allura was a princess, a diplomat, but she was still someone who could suffer as much as anyone else on this team from traumatic events.

In the end, he gave her a kind smile. "I accept your apology Allura, and thanks for clarifying all that for me. It really helped," he stated upon standing up.

"Should we uh… how do you earthlings call it? I think the term was hug? To assure that both sides understood what has just passed yes?"

He laughed. A hug from the Princess of Altea? Gosh this was not how he'd expected his day to go. When his laughter died down she was blushing out of embarrassment, but she was trying, she really was. "Yes Princess, we can if you're okay with it."

"Of course I am!" she exclaimed before she rushed over to him to hug him. She whispered, "Please always know that you're family here. We all care about you."

Keith smiled and refused to get teary-eyed from her remark.

Lance returned a few minutes after and seemed very satisfied by the normalcy. He didn't question it; he just slipped right in back to calibrating the weapon system with Keith as they all interacted with the princess about the locations she was looking over.

* * *

Some days passed and Keith found himself on the training deck with Lance, this time the two going over the invisible maze together; Lance was in the maze and Keith was up in the observatory deck trying to guide him. Both realized some time ago the map was inaccurate in order to force the members to communicate with each other more efficiently, which is what both were doing when Coran suddenly entered the observatory.

"Aft'rnoon my boy, could I perhaps borrow a moment of y'r time?"

"Uhh…" said Keith before he lifted a finger to imply that he needed a moment and then spoke into the microphone. "Hey Lance, do you mind waiting for a sec? Coran needs to talk to me."

"Already—I mean yeah yeah sure go ahead, I'll be here."

Keith scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at that first word, but he ignored it in favor of giving Coran his full attention. "What's up?"

Coran cleared his throat before proceeding to speak. "Well-er-I know since your encounter with the Blade of Marmora, things have seemed a little odd with some of us and maybe…maybe I should've spoken sooner to Allura regarding her behavior, since I am her appointed advis'r, but perhaps I might've been slightly upset to react fast enough—or maybe I had hoped she'd figure it out—then again I knew she wasn't going to without a wakeup call of sorts—anyhoo, my point is that…well…I'm sorry as well for not supporting you immediately on that regardless of the fact y're part Galra, y're still a part of our team."

Keith blinked a few times because it was a lot to take in, but he got the gist of it and smiled at him. "I mean I kind of expected everyone to be weird about it, but I wanted to be honest with all of you, even if meant things probably couldn't go back to normal."

Within a second, Coran rushed over to place his hand firmly at either side of Keith's shoulders, and had a determined expression on his face. "Dear boy, you don't understand, family shouldn't make oth'r members feel like outsiders, even if we are all diff'rent and not related by blood. Family is meant to consist of people you trust and that can accept you as you are. I'm sure you've been told this before, but I'm reaffirming it for you right now."

His bold statement had left Keith speechless, but the warmth that grew in his chest at how true Coran's words were had him smiling up at him in appreciation. "Thanks Coran, that really… really means a lot."

Said man moved back a step, claiming that something got in his eye—the man was holding back tears—before he cleared his throat and said that he had to return to checking if the medical pods needed any repairs and disappeared out the door.

Keith chuckled before turning the mic back on, "Hey Lance, still with me?"

"Yeah Buddy, I'm all set to go."

"Great," he replied before they continued with the exercise. If Lance noticed he sounded a little more energetic, he didn't mention it.

* * *

The pool felt incredibly nice when Lance slipped into the water to relax his aching muscles. The mission they'd gone on had had him running all over the place across a Galra supply ship to gather supplies and any prisoners while Pidge hacked into their logs for any intel, but it was the surprise attack from some bots that left him feeling sore. One of them had scraped his shoulder, which thankfully was fine due to his armor, but the force of the hit had caused a lot of agony on its own.

For a moment he closed his eyes, the water's fluid warmth wrapping around the areas of pain and loosening his muscles before the recollection continued to Shiro asking everyone's status, to which Lance replied he'd gotten hit, but was fine. Keith for some apparent reason had hurriedly rushed over to support him when he didn't have to, but Lance was infinitely grateful that he did regardless.

It was silly to think how they'd gradually gotten into this dynamic of watching each other's backs in the field, no hint of hesitation to go and support the other. They still bickered, but there was a tone of fondness in their remarks now that wasn't there before, which brought a smile to his face.

"Thinking about that parade you keep asking for?"

Lance jumped from his relaxed position in surprise before realizing it was Keith, who was chuckling at his reaction. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you."

"You sure don't sound like it," added Lance with deadpan stare at him.

Keith soon hopped into the water and right next to Lance comfortably. It was odd recalling the first time they tried to use the pool and how Keith had insisted they sit as far away from each other as possible. Granted, they'd both been worn out from constantly running from Zarkon, so he hadn't been upset at him at the time, just confused by the remark when Lance hadn't even said a word to him to instigate such a response.

Nevertheless, being here now and getting along so well was nice and proved that they'd made progress as teammates and friends.

Keith sighed next to him as the water's warmth enveloped him too. "How's your arm by the way?"

"It's fine, I guess. It'll heal."

"Lance…"

"Yeah yeah I know I could use the healing pod, but I'm just really wary about them after what happened last time I was there."

Keith looked at him for a moment before recalling having to rescue him from being ejected into space and later on discussing how he got there before they found Coran. "Ah."

"Yeah…"

"Well, if it doesn't get better, you'll have to use it. We never know when we'll be needed and Coran's always insisting we be at our best."

Lance's form slouched from the light scolding, but Keith was right, they did need to be in top shape for any emergency. He sighed dejectedly, "I know, it's just… nevermind. Forget it."

"Come on, out with it Lance."

"Seriously it's fine. I was just overthinking is all. It's all good and dandy."

Keith wasn't deterred. "Aren't we supposed to be a team?"

"I can't believe you're using that against me!"

"It was worth a shot."

As much as Lance wanted to tell him it didn't work, it did and he ended up taking in a deep breath before saying, "I thought I'd never get to be home again. Or that it'd be gone by the time I woke up again."

"Lance…"

"It's pathetic I know."

"It's not."

"Wha?" Lance looked over at his, looking eyes with Keith's.

"It's not. I miss it too and I'd be sad if Earth was gone."

Lance smiled at him in thanks for understanding.

Keith then gently placed a hand on Lance's uninjured shoulder. "How about this, if you have to go back into the pod, I'll make sure you get out when you need to, so you won't end up stuck in there for ten-thousand years. Deal?"

Lance pondered for a moment on the offer before giving in. "Yeah… I guess I can work with that."

* * *

After the pool, Lance and Keith made their way to the kitchen to get something to eat when they found Hunk getting ready to make whatever it was he'd come up with today. "Oh hey guys!"

Lance awed at all the ingredients on the counter, ready to help out his best friend when Hunk suddenly pointed at him with a spoon with a stern look. "You go rest. Keith can help me. If he wants to."

Keith was surprised by the sudden offer, but didn't mind. He did feel bad for Lance who crossed his arms, grumbling in irritation before walking out of the room.

"You sure he'll be fine?"

Hunk was leaning over the counter to see if Lance was out of earshot. "Yeah, but to be honest this is a little surprise I'm making him."

Keith laughed at that before coming over to join where Hunk was. "What do you need me to do?"

"Can you grab that weird bowl with blue looking grains?"

Keith saw it and brought it over. Hunk immediately poured it into a pot with some water before heating it up and stirring it.

"Pass me that weird red twig with bumps over there."

Quickly, Keith did and watched as Hunk dumped it in and kept stirring. "We gotta cook this for a while since the rice needs to be ready before adding the milk."

Looking around Keith saw space sugar and milk from Kaltenecker. "What are you even making?"

"Oh, whoops my bad. Should've mentioned that first. I'm making—or at least what's a close enough version—of arroz con leche."

"Awoz con what?"

Hunk chuckled. "It's the spanish term for the dessert rice with milk."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I know this is one of Lance's favorite desserts, so I decided to see if I could remake it. Or try to," he admitted before checking the pot again. "Ohhh perfect the rice is ready, can you grab that bucket of milk over there and pour it in here?"

Keith blinked. "Sure," he replied before he grabbed it and slowly started adding it in, careful to not let the steam burn his fingers.

"Nice," said Hunk as he continued stirring. "This'll take a little longer since the milk was cold. It also had evaporated milk, to help make it thicker."

Keith nodded and watched the continuous motion of stirring with fascination before Hunk interrupted his thoughts. "So… how's it going?"

"What do you mean?" answered Keith as he looked up at him.

"Like, finding out that you're Galra and all? Do you feel any changes? Are you gonna grow fur?"

Keith gave him a deadpan stare. "Really?"

"I'm curious!"

At that Keith laughed and Hunk smiled. "Just so you know, I'm totally cool with it. Like yeah we just got to know each other better because of Voltron, and your lineage happens to mean you're related to the enemy, but I'm still glad we're friends. Sorry for not telling you sooner. The tension in the room when you told us kinda scared me."

"Hunk, really it's fine, but thanks for letting me know either way. I appreciate it."

Immediately after, Hunk ambushed him with a tight hug.

When he let go he had another question for Keith. "Um, Allura doesn't hate you right? Like yeah you happen to be related to the people that destroyed her entire species… okay yeah she might hate you a little? I'm rambling. Sorry."

Keith couldn't help but chuckle at how honest Hunk was before giving him his response, "To be honest, she did. A lot actually."

Hunk frowned at him. "I figured, but like… what got her to stop? Or does she happen to hate you less or something? 'Cause I saw how bad she was treating you for a while and I couldn't watch, so I don't know."

"I don't know. The last time it got bad, we argued and then she went for a walk with Lance before coming back alone to apologize. It was really strange, but it wasn't bad. She even hugged me and it was… really nice. We get along really well now. On occasion she spars with me to test my endurance, so it's pretty fun."

When he didn't hear Hunk say anything, he turned to look at him and saw him with his mouth agape. "What?"

Hunk's expression turned exasperated. "Are you—you mean to tell me—you know what, I'm not gonna say anything."

"What are you talking about?"

"N-n-n-nothing! Just pass me that container that looks like purple gelatin."

Keith quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oookaaaaay then…" he said before he brought the container over to him.

Hunk sighed, but he quickly changed the subject. "So like, what's the Princess teaching you?"

The topic completely distracted Keith as he went into a long story of how she started helping him improve, even with his teamwork with Lance against the gladiator and the drones. Hunk found it endearing to see such a side of Keith, well aware that Lance had been the one to make it possible.

* * *

Lance had ended up lying sideways and watching something on one of the altean tablets Allura had given him some time ago when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in."

He was surprised to see Keith walk in with a bowl of some sort. "Hunk sent me."

Lance blinked for a moment before sitting up. "What is it?"

Keith chuckled. "Maybe try it first and see if you can tell."

"Augh, fine. Make the life of an injured person difficult why don't you?"

"Well, as far I can tell you're doing fine moving on your own. It's not like you need someone to feed you. Or do you?" Keith said jokingly with a sly grin.

"Keith! You can't just casually say things like that man!" Lance squawked as he fought to hide his blush.

"Did I say something wrong?" said Keith with a quirked eyebrow, his mouth slightly pouting.

Lance grabbed a pillow and screamed into it before holding out his uninjured arm. "Just give me the damn bowl," came through his muffled voice.

Keith remained confused, but handed it over nonetheless. When Lance removed the pillow, he took a bite before he started moaning happily from how good it tasted. "Oh my quiznaking god, I love you Hunk!"

Smiling, Keith left the room to let Hunk know about Lance's reaction.

* * *

It was late at night and pretty much everyone was sleeping, as Lance should've been too, but instead, he was at Pidge's room, knocking on her door.

When it slid open she was surprised to see it was him.

"Hey," he said with a nervous wave, "can we talk?"

"About?" she answered as she quirked an eyebrow.

"Keith?"

She sighed before gesturing for him to come in. Lance sat on the floor, so at to not disrupt her work space.

"Out with it. Why are you here to talk about Keith with me?"

Lance was cross-legged, so he propped an elbow on one of his knees and leaned his face onto the palm of his hand. "Tell me why it is you keep avoiding him. It's not like you have any particular issue with him, or do you?"

She sighed. "It's not that."

"Then what? Is it that you don't know what to say to him?"

Pidge deadpanned at him while blushing slightly out of embarrassment. "I'm not a people person okay? I suck at socializing and I don't know how to clear the air of awkwardness with him."

At that, Lance chuckled before a pillow was chucked his way. "Sorry, sorry, it's just funny to see the genius struggle with talking to someone she already knows."

"You're not helping you ass!" she said, struggling not to laugh too.

"Look, how 'bout I help you?"

"You mean like you have with everyone Keith's totally chill with?"

Lance squawked.

"I'm sure Hunk even knows, but don't worry dude. I'm not gonna spill the beans."

"Oh thank quiznak," he said while making a prayer with his hands. "But seriously if you want, maybe ask him to help you with some maintenance on Green. He's not gonna say no."

"I thought of that, but maybe it'd be too sudden like I don't know…"

"You mean travelling through the vents and hopping into a meeting like nothing isn't sudden enough?"

She threw another pillow at him. He laughed. "Though really, Pidge, that should be fine. Allura and Shiro are gonna be at the control center tomorrow, Coran's gonna teach Hunk more about how to maintain the engine of the ship, and I was gonna clean around the ship since I'm one of the few that know how to use the cleaning supplies."

Her eyes widened. "How are you real?"

"I grew up in a large family Pidge. It's not magic."

"But you didn't have to go through the effort to give me a window of opportunity like that."

"Whatever are you talking about? I just happened to learn of this recently."

"Quit playing dumb you strategic sharpshooter," she said as she fought to not laugh.

"Oh would you look at the time. Guess I should sleep. Bye!" he quietly called out to her as he rushed out the door, having left a note of the time when Keith would be alone tomorrow.

* * *

Lately, Keith had had trouble sleeping due to the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about Lance and how sweet he could really be once he opened up and dropped the mask of trying to be better than everyone else. In the time he'd spent in getting to know him while struggling with accepting his lineage, Lance had been incredibly supportive. It had been surprising at first, but comforting.

Keith still recalled how Shiro had proudly given Lance the nickname of Sharpshooter after the excursion to Betatraz with him and Pidge to rescue a hostage for the Blade of Marmora. Lance had skillfully gathered a face scan of the prison guard and rescued Slav from the clutches of said prison guard in the Betaraz while they'd been escaping.

His beaming smile had captivated Keith for a moment that he'd forgotten where he was till Allura snapped him out of it.

The nickname suited Lance, and Keith had already gotten Samurai from him during a long mission that had turned out to be a disguised training exercise from Coran, so after becoming closer friends, they'd started using those nicknames with each other.

Keith, without knowing, had slowly found himself falling for Lance and by the time he realized it, it just felt normal for him to have such feelings. Yet, even though he was someone direct with his emotions and thoughts, he'd notice some form of hesitation from Lance which made Keith more reluctant to confess to him as time passed. He wondered if the possibility of being with Lance as more than friends could exist above 0%.

Sighing, he turned over in bed and hoped for sleep to come.

* * *

The following day, Pidge found Keith alone on the training deck as Lance had assured and waited until he finished his first round with the gladiator. While he took a sip from his water pouch, he saw her approach. "Oh… hey Pidge."

"Hey Keith, um, would you mind helping me with some modifications for Green. Everyone else is kinda busy right now," she said nervously, wanting to mentally slap herself for how her voice sounded so cracked.

"Sure I guess. I mean I'm not that oriented with tech stuff though. Not sure if you still want me help…"

Without hesitation, she waved her hand in front of herself as if to dismiss the issue. "Totally not a problem. You'll be enough."

"Okay then…"

* * *

Soon enough, they were in Green's hangar, one of the panels under her opened with some some tools on a hovering cart and Pidge's laptop close by to do analysis with. "I'll let you know what to pass me and what you can do for me as I upgrade the invisibility for her."

He smiled. "Yeah, I can do that."

"Cool."

It didn't take long for them to get into a rhythm. She'd need something to be handed to her and if he wasn't sure what it was, she'd provide some wacky details that made it hard to forget the next time she needed it. It was how she kept track of stuff, she explained. Keith merely laughed. If she'd need him to do something for her, like hold something in place or check something on her laptop, she'd easily instruct him before he'd quickly accomplish the task for her. It was nice.

After some time passed, she finally found the courage to touch on _that_ subject. "Hey Keith?"

"Yeah?" he answered while holding some wires in place for her.

"I don't hate you or anything. Like I still think you're a cool pilot and good friend. Regardless of if you're related to the Galra."

Keith blinked. "Why are you telling me this now?"

She chuckled. "I just suck at words honestly. I was a bit confused too because my dad and brother had been taken by the empire, so I didn't want to accidentally project my frustration at you. I mean after a while I figured it out that you're still you, but I had no way of figuring out how to tell you without making it super awkward. Does that make sense?"

Keith chuckled. "Yeah, it does Pidge. And don't worry, I'm shitty at words too, so I can relate."

"Oh thank quiznak, I was worried I sounded like a machine or something," she said as she secured the wires he was holding into place.

"Nah, you're fine."

"Thanks Keith."

* * *

Shiro, according to Lance, would probably be the most difficult person to get through. He was well aware of the traumas he'd been through, even if he didn't know exactly what they were.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out that Shiro's trust in Keith had gone into some form of instability. What with how he'd never meet Keith's eyes or with how he'd respond to him so formally, as if he were a stranger. Granted that everyone else was treating Keith better than when he'd dropped the news of his lineage, but Lance could still see the immense hurt Keith would hide anytime Shiro would act so strange around him.

The others had noticed it, but they weren't sure how to address it. It was a complex problem similar to Allura's and Coran's, except worse in some ways because Shiro had been forced to live the horror that the Galra could be.

He sighed as he hung out at the pool after pushing himself to clean so much yesterday. Lance hadn't meant to overdo it, but he'd been so focused on not trying to feel overwhelmed by his crush on Keith, he didn't notice the pain throbbing in his arm at all until it was too late.

Thankfully, no one saw him, but he knew that probably at this point, he should go into one of the healing pods, which according to Coran would only take a few hours. In thinking of having to do that, he recalled how Keith had assured he'd keep watch. Immediately after, Lance covered his face in his hands and dived under the water, holding his breath.

How ridiculous could he be? Feeling overwhelmed by a kind offering from someone who probably wouldn't even return his feelings. Lance hated these negative thoughts, but they rung so true to him, it was hard to stop thinking them.

Coming up for air, Lance decided to dive around the deep end. Sinking to the bottom was always a fun game he did with his siblings and it was something that often helped cleared his mind when his thoughts became too loud like now. The water hugged him gently as the gravity pulled him slowly down. He closed his eyes. He could hear his heartbeat now. It was soothing.

Before the pressure became too much on his ears, he pinched his nose and blew hard enough to push some air into them to help reduce the pain before continuing to the bottom. Sitting down and observing the view before him, since the water was a neutral level and neither basic nor acidic. It felt ethereal, but also nostalgic. It wasn't home, but it was close enough.

For a while he stayed like that, about a minute or two. His max was five and he knew when he needed to push himself to the surface for air. Around the third minute he closed his eyes and tried to think up some way to get Shiro to talk to him. It wouldn't be an immediate solution, it would take time, but it needed a strong start.

Just as an idea hit him, a splash was heard above him and he looked up, seeing a panicked Keith diving towards him. He grew confused and quirked an eyebrow at the other boy whose expression quickly changed to surprise and relief before pointing up for both to get air. Lance majestically pushed himself with the right amount of force and broke the surface. "Keith what?"

"Don't gimme that!" said Keith after he broke the surface too and took a breath of air. "I thought you'd drowned!"

"What gave you that idea?"

Keith deadpanned at him. "I was looking to just relax in the pool before taking a shower, but then I saw you down there and you were as still as a statue. I thought something had snatched you under or something. I couldn't consider—"

"Hey, it's fine. I get it, but I also wouldn't have done that last thing you were about to say," stated Lance with a smile.

"What were you even doing anyway?"

"Meditating."

"By sitting at the bottom of a pool?"

"Well, you were in the middle of a desert."

"Touché."

At that they both chuckled. Then Keith spoke up again, "Seriously, you're okay though right?"

Lance blushed slightly from the question. He was used to it from everyone else, but not Keith, so it caught him off guard. "Yeah… I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."

Keith looked at him curiously. "Like what?"

"Like how was it that you ended up doing the blade's challenge?" Lance replied, keeping his tone casual.

"Oh. That."

The sight of Keith's mood dropping was too much for Lance. "Hey man, don't worry about it. It was out of line for me to ask anyway. Just forget about it."

Keith stayed quiet and Lance wondered if the subject was a lot more sensitive than he let on. He considered leaving Keith alone and decided to start climbing over the edge to leave the pool. Halfway there, his wrist was suddenly pulled the instant Keith broke out of his thoughts and said, "Wait."

"Holy quiznak!"

Lance fell back and was caught by Keith instead of the water.

"Keith, buddy, give a guy a warning next time. I did not need a heart… attack… " he trailed off as realized his situation and blushed.

"Sorry about that. I was gonna say I don't mind telling you."

"That's good to know, but, um, could you, I don't know, put me down?"

"Are you gonna make the effort to at least remember this bonding moment?"

Lance covered his face and groaned. He did not at all plan to be in such a predicament. "Fine," came out the muffled sound of his voice.

"Couldn't catch that. Might wanna say it a little louder," teased Keith before Lance groaned louder this time.

Lance removed the hands from his face, pouting at Keith in annoyance before saying, "Fine."

"Fine what?"

"AUGH! Keeeeeeith! Gimme a break!"

"Nope."

"I can't believe this. I've been betrayed," dramatically stated Lance as he rested his forearm against his head. "Augh, I agree to make an effort to remember okay?"

"Eh, good enough," replied Keith before dumping Lance back into the water. He flailed in surprise before righting himself to a standing position. "What was that for?!"

"Payback for forgetting the first time."

"... Fair enough."

Silence followed as they settled against the wall of the pool, Lance patiently waiting for Keith to answer his question. When he finally started telling about what happened at the base of the Blade of Marmora, he stammered a bit, but Lance remained quiet and kept listening. He knew how hard it was to tell things that were personal.

When Keith mentioned how Shiro didn't vouch for him on the knife, his face fell and suddenly, Lance understood why the trust between them had become so unstable.

"...I know he cares, but I don't know. He hasn't been himself around me and I don't know what to do. So I just… kinda let it sit there, hoping for it to not get worse, but I feel like it is either way."

Lance found it surprising to see such a vulnerable side of Keith. Granted he'd earned the right in having befriended him through a trying time and had his own walls, but he never realized how much Keith hid in himself until now.

For a moment, they stayed quiet again, then Lance spoke. "I think Shiro's just struggling with himself, so just give it some more time."

"Yeah, I guess…"

After his refreshing shower, Lance felt better about confronting Shiro and trying to find a solution to the current dilemma.

He still worried he'd be unable to succeed, but he had to try because seeing Keith so saddened had been heartbreaking.

Shaking his head to figuratively clear his thoughts, Lance tried to focus on recalling where Shiro would be today. Not long afterwards, he found himself heading towards the observatory.

Upon finding the leader of the paladins, Lance's throat felt dry. Shiro was in a crossed-legged position on the floor, his palms resting face-up on his knees, his index fingers and thumbs touching at the tips to form a circle, his eyes closed. It felt like he was about to ruin that mental peace he was working so hard to achieve. Sure, Lance had discussed with Shiro before, but never at the level of friends, only as his team leader and as someone he respected. Regardless, Lance had already come this far, there was no turning back now.

It didn't seem that Shiro had noticed his presence or maybe he had and was pretending that he hadn't. Lance kept his distance. He didn't want to spook him and trigger any traumatic experience from having suffered during his imprisonment. "Hey…"

Shiro slowly opened one eye towards Lance before opening the other. "Oh, hey Lance. Is there something you need?"

"Uh, well, I saw you meditating and I'm suspicious as to why your pose looks a lot like Raven," he replied, thinking Shiro wouldn't get the reference.

However, Shiro ended up smiling before adding, "Teen Titans is a great show."

Lance's jaw dropped before he found himself walking over to him and sitting down in front of him. "How?"

Shiro laughed. "Sure I'm older than the others, not including Allura and Coran, but I did have a childhood too."

Lance chuckled. "True true."

Shiro looked around for a bit before whispering to Lance. "I even made Keith watch the series while we were at the Garrison."

"Oh my god! You're kidding!" Lance said as he started guffawing uncontrollably.

"He kept saying how he was never into cartoons and I managed to convince him to give it a try. He got absolutely hooked and it was hilarious to watch."

Lance couldn't believe his ears. When his laughter died down, he felt less tense about talking to him further about Keith. "How are you guys doing now?"

It was evident how Shiro was unsure of the situation with how his face fell at the question. Lance took it as his cue to continue. "You're not upset with him are you?"

"Of course I'm not…"

"But?"

Shiro sighed, an indicator that he was frustrated, but tired. "When we were at the the blade's headquarters, and they snatched his knife, I panicked at the thought

that my best friend could be related to our enemy, even if we were meeting with a select few that weren't evil."

Lance remained quiet, but he was beginning to understand what might've happened in that brief moment of doubt. "You were fighting off a flashback weren't you?"

"Yeah… PTSD was something I learned a long time ago, but I never thought I'd get a firsthand experience at it," added Shiro with a sad chuckle. "I never meant to waver Keith's faith in me, nor mine in him, but that moment where I couldn't vouch for him that his knife was his… that did it."

"Shiro…"

"If I had, maybe he wouldn't have had to go through that trial they made him go through to keep it. I regret it even now and that my PTSD makes it hard to prevent it from happening again."

Lance found it odd seeing the team's leader look so vulnerable, but if anything, it just made him as human as everyone else on the ship. He wasn't sure about alteans, but he had a feeling that they were very similar in more ways than one.

"Keith… really admires you and cares about you still Shiro. I don't think he hates you."

"I feel like I betrayed him. What right do I have to call him my friend."

Lance sighed. "Friends aren't perfect and mistakes happen. I'm no expert either and me and Hunk have had misunderstandings before, even if we are the bestest bros."

Shiro smiled at that. "Thanks Lance."

"I try. But seriously Shiro, just like, I don't know, tell him what happened? Like what you told me."

"And what if another misunderstanding happens?"

"You'll at least know better for the future and be able to clarify them sooner than the last time. Heck you're always encouraging the team to communicate to achieve that."

"Oh, right. I guess it's hard to follow your own advice sometimes," he said with sheepish smile.

Lance chuckled. "Trust me, you're not the only one. I should get going now. Me and Blue were gonna have a nice chat to keep our bond strong," he mentioned as he got up. He'd barely taken a step when Shiro called to him.

"Hey."

Lance turned around. "Hm?"

"Thanks for taking the time to help me talk about it."

"What? I didn't plan this."

Shiro deadpanned at him.

"You knew the whole time and yet…?"

"I saw how everyone's improved with how they act around him and it didn't take long to figure out it was you. Even then, I still didn't know how to think through my situation, so thanks for that."

"Y-y-yeah, no problem. Keith's in the common room right now if you wanna look for him."

"I'll be sure to stop by."

* * *

Keith scowled at the information on the tablet. He knew he needed to practice altean, but the different rules and exceptions kept confusing him. Lance apparently had done his in his room before going to the pool, and had promptly gone somewhere after taking a shower and getting changed.

After a few more ticks, Keith groaned and laid across the couch to give his head a break from the confusing terms. He heard someone enter the room, but paid no mind to it until someone called his name. "Keith?"

He abruptly sat up in realizing it was Shiro. His eyes wide with surprise. "Yeah?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you and your studies."

"You weren't. I was taking a break."

"Oh, okay. Can we talk?"

Keith blinked in surprise. "Sure. Feel free to take a seat if you want."

Shiro quickly hopped down next to him. "I know it's sudden, but it's regarding what happened at the blade's headquarters."

"Look I took the test and survived. Nothing to worry about." Keith feared he was going to be lectured on how reckless he'd been or discuss something else in the same awkward formal manner he'd been using up to now.

"I made a mistake Keith and I'm sorry."

"What?" said Keith as he blinked at him in surprise, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"I should've vouched for you when they asked about your knife, but my PTSD acted up when the thought hit me that maybe you were part Galra. It probably sounds odd, but please know that I never stopped thinking you were my best friend. I can't guarantee my PTSD won't act up again, but I want you to know for future reference in case it does, that my faith in you will never waver. I just happen to be terrible with words like you sometimes."

Keith up to that point had been overwhelmed by the sincerity of his words, and felt a weight lift off his shoulders as he shoved Shiro jokingly. "Don't mock me when you're trying to be serious," he said while laughing, his eyes getting slightly teary.

Shiro laughed too. "Well, you're not any better at lightening up the mood, except with watching a marathon of Teen Titans."

"Don't turn this on me! You're the one who got me into the series in the first place!"

The tension that had been between them seemed to practically disappear. Nevertheless, they both knew that there was still a lot to be done to assure their bond as brothers and best friends remained strong.

For now though, they enjoyed the moment of geeking about a series they enjoyed back on earth.

* * *

Lance was in the observatory as he tried to gather his thoughts. He hadn't realized that in the process of helping everyone clear any biases towards Keith, he'd end up feeling sad in not having to do anything more for him. Granted, Lance had decided to help out on his own, but it didn't mean that his crush had subsided in the process.

He sighed. What was he to do with himself? He liked the friendship he and Keith had, but he feared that confessing his feelings would be too much to hope for to go well.

All self concerns aside, Lance was glad to see everyone treating Keith fair again, even if the awkwardness by some previously hadn't been fueled by unintended hate. At one point he had wondered if Keith's genetics ran deep enough physically to alter his appearance. He didn't know much about hybrids, especially human and Galra ones, but it would be an interesting sight to see if it did happen. Then again, that could trigger Shiro's ptsd if seeing Keith like that caught him off guard.

He exhaled as he kept staring up at the stars and planets he could see amongst some galaxies from lying on the floor. If he thought hard enough, he could imagine himself lying back on the beach with his siblings and trying to find as many constellations as possible.

When he'd been younger and not as knowledgeable about astronomy, he'd point out shapes like one would do with clouds during the daytime, which he often did too. Lance chuckled in recalling how one time, he'd called the Leo constellation the legless-earless cat with the curly tail and the Scorpio constellation the flat-bottom question mark.

"Something funny on your mind?" he heard said above him before opening his eyes and seeing Keith.

It took him a moment to realize how close Keith was to his face right now before freaking out and sitting up suddenly, which led to their foreheads smacking against each other very hard.

"What the hell Lance?!"

"Owwww… Keith, dude, you freakin' snuck up on me! What do you mean what the hell?!"

"Ah, yeah. My bad. Sorry."

"It's fine…" muttered Lance before turning around to see Keith looking at him worriedly. "Seriously, don't—" he cut off as Allura's voice boomed through the speakers.

"Paladins! We have a situation! Get to your lions!"

* * *

As they reached their hangars, Allura debriefed them on the situation. "There's a battle cruiser on its way from gathering supplies, including prisoners. Your first priority is to rescue them before destroying the ship, but you'll be divided. However, before that, you'll need to take out their ion cannon to give us the ability to assist you while you're divided."

"Understood," they all said in unison before Shiro proceeded to give them further orders.

"Hunk, Pidge, you're with me on keeping the battle drones away while Keith and Lance search for the prisoners. Their lions are faster and can get them away from danger sooner."

"Got it!" answered Pidge and Hunk as the team set off in their lions from their hangars.

Even though they'd done rescues and attacked the massive battle cruisers before, there was always the concern that something could still go horrendously wrong while fighting them.

Thankfully though, they had experience and wisdom to guide them in most occasions. Soon enough they formed Voltron and relentlessly struck at the location of the ion canon—a force that was endlessly worrisome whenever fully active.

Keith and Lance seamlessly wove through the enemies that blocked their way towards the section where the prisoners were held. Red and Blue took pride in their pilots and roared throughout the flight.

They made themselves an entrance by the hangar with escape pods that was near the prison. They hopped out of their lions, weapons at the the ready for any oncoming enemies and tech ready to hack open the cells. Almost immediately they were greeted by a large group of soldiers upon reaching the hall where the prisoners were kept.

Both ducked for cover and quickly discussed on a plan.

"Nice to know the welcoming party never fails to say hi."

"Lance."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll shoot and make you opening while you shield and cut 'em down."

"Don't forget to make sure no one sneaks up on us."

"Aye sir!"

Even though they were in battle, Keith slightly chuckled at Lance's good humor, which he knew was meant to help keep them both calm and signified confidence in their teamwork.

They checked on who to target first before going in tactfully and taking down the group little by little. When it seemed they had the all clear, they quickly set to work before backup could arrive. When they finished releasing the prisoners from the two cells they came across, they instructed them to head to the escape pods. From there, Lance and Keith would assist them in reaching the castleship with protection from their lions. The prisoners immediately understood and followed them, Keith leading them from the front and Lance guarding the back.

One of the prisoners was very ill and required assistance from another prisoner, which ended up with them slowly pulling away from the rapidly moving group. Lance now had two sections to keep an eye on and it concerned him.

"Keith, I don't like this distance, anyone could cut into the space in front of me."

"Can't be helped. We'll have to make do. I'm double checking the halls on sides though as best as I can."

"10-4."

It wasn't long before the group arrived to their destination just as a new round of soldiers approached them from behind.

"Quick, take cover!" yelled Lance as he pulled the two prisoners to hide behind a wall several feet from the hangar.

"Lance!"

"Keith, get the others safe! I'll meet up with you!"

It was obvious that Keith wasn't satisfied with his decision, but it was the best plan they had for now, so he reluctantly agreed to it.

"Don't take too long Sharpshooter," shouted Keith.

"Got it Samurai," replied Lance as he focused on how to go about ensuring the safety of the prisoners without risking injury or anything too serious at least. It wasn't long before he developed another quick plan. It was based off something Pidge had said a long time ago regarding the guns the soldiers tended to use. If shot at the right angle, it could destabilize and cause a miniature explosion that could work as a temporary distraction.

He wagered how to get the best opportunity and made a decision. He turned to the prisoners, "I'm gonna cause a distraction, at my say move as fast as you can. I'll cover you."

The two prisoners nodded at him in understanding before he focused on the group that stood several feet away and constantly shooting in their direction. Grasping the right moment to shoot would be hard, but he needed to make an opening to give the prisoners a head start. Immediately he entered the hall, shield up, before briefly taking it down to shoot at his best opportunity.

Almost instantly, the distraction occurred with the small explosion taking place, and disorienting the group.

"Move!"

The prisoners quickly made an effort to push themselves to move as rapidly as possible just as Lance moved backward while taking aim at the distracted enemies.

One by one they fell to the ground as he and the prisoners reached the hangar. At this point he was going to have them end up in Blue. There was too little time to have them try and ready up a pod. Yet, as he was briefly turned to tell them to go into Blue's mouth, his left leg suddenly collapsed, making him fall. His gun slipping out of his hands before transforming back into his bayard. When turned to quickly check what had happened, he realized he'd been shot, the sensation of the burn sinking in slowly.

"Fuck."

Thankfully, Blue put fear into the oncoming enemies by roaring fiercely at them, causing them to freeze in place and giving Lance a window of opportunity to escape. She closed the distance of him crawling to her before he made his way to the pilot seat as the prisoners rested against a wall in the cockpit. He grunted as he pulled along his leg before managing to finally sit down. Pushing the controls to set Blue out into space again. He hadn't realized that in the event of all this madness, Keith and everyone else had been shouting his name through the coms to check if he was okay.

"Hey guys, I'm fine. All set to form Voltron," he said casually, ignoring how strained his voice sounded.

"Lance what happened?!" he heard Keith say before his face showed up on the control panel in front of him.

For some reason Lance chuckled. "I got distracted for a moment, but I'll be fine."

"Dude, do not scare us like that," said Pidge through the com.

"Seriously," added Hunk, who Lance suspected had probably almost started crying while being so worried.

"Let's finish this up quick guys," ordered Shiro through the coms before everyone else agreed.

When the words processed in Lance's head, he honestly had no idea on how to handle the problem of his leg being in pain. To be honest, the adrenaline was toning it down to almost nothing for now, which would make it easier for the others in the bond that allowed them to form Voltron.

In combining as one, Lance felt everyone's concern for him, Keith's the most. He sent back the sensation that he'd be fine and to keep going forward.

"Alright guys, summon sword and shield!"

They easily blocked oncoming drones before extending their sword to it's largest size and cutting the battle cruiser in half. An explosion quickly following its defeat.

When they separated, Lance could feel the adrenaline wearing down and the pain in his leg now becoming ten-fold. He was glad the team hadn't been able to really notice it before, but he knew the instant he exited Blue, his cover would be blown and he'd be rushed to the healing pod.

Everyone safely arrived at the hangars for the lions in the Castleship before it wormhole jumped into another area to prevent getting tracked by the Galra empire. When Lance exited Blue after the prisoners, the others handled taking them with Coran and Allura to the healing pods. Keith had stayed behind after apparently urging Shiro to leave, who said something before doing so.

Lance smiled as best as he could while limping down the ramp. "Hey."

"I can't believe you had me worried like that!" said Keith as he helped support Lance. "You could've gotten more hurt!"

"Well I'm alive aren't I?"

Keith gave him an unimpressed stare before looking ahead and sighing. "You'll need the healing pod this time. Your leg's not the only injury you got."

"What? Seriously?"

Keith nodded. "Your armor's been hit a few times, mostly scratches, but some look like they've caused some major bruising like on your arms and thighs," he explained.

Lance merely groaned. He didn't want to go into the healing pod.

For a while they remained quiet until Keith spoke up again. "Don't forget. I'll be watching over you to make sure you come out all healed up," Keith mentioned with a small smile as he glanced over at him.

Lance's brain short circuited for a brief moment, and he blushed before focusing his attention on the ground. "Yeah... Thanks."

* * *

Upon reaching the healing pods, one of the prisoners that Lance had rescued, the one that hadn't been ill, was heavily discussing with Coran and pointing at the healing pod. Keith knew that Lance would probably have to wait a little while since some of the prisoners were new, so they hadn't sustained as much injury as the others, meaning that in a few hours they'd have something available. He didn't mind waiting if it was for Lance who—

"Rescuer!" cried the prisoner talking to Coran as they rushed over. "Please, I'm not with any serious injuries. Take my place in the pod. Besides, I am awaiting my partner that you so bravely helped save to exit the pod when it is her time."

Coran was going to protest, but it seemed he wouldn't be able to convince the prisoner otherwise, whose named turned out to be Levina. Her partner's was Kiytha.

"I insist," she urged.

Keith looked at Lance, who was rather caught off guard by the act of kindness before accepting it gratefully. Upon entering the healing pod, it microscopically replaced his armor with the clothing for patients before it scanned him. When it found all the areas that needed attention, it released a gas to put him gently to sleep as it went to work with tending to his wounds. Keith placed a hand on glass by where Lance's face was. "I'll be here waiting for you Sharpshooter."

Lance slowly smiled. "Thanks Samurai."

* * *

The time it would take for Lance to wake up would take about a day and a half. Keith never left his side except to grab food, change out of his armor, and use the restroom. It felt strange to him how heavy his worry was for his teammate, even though he knew he'd be fine. Coran assured him that he'd done maintenance to double check that the healing pods were functioning properly.

During the first day, as he did some Altean homework, Levina came by to visit him after she'd gone through a manual check up and been cleaned in another room connected to the med bay. She was short, about four feet tall with a large what appeared to be a gemstone on her forehead, while she had four arms and pupil-less black eyes. "Mind if I accompany you?"

"Sure."

A moment of silence passed after Levina sat down next to him before she spoke. "Thank you again for rescuing everyone."

He gave a small smile. "We try. It's part of our job."

Levina returned the expression before asking, "Could I ask you something? There's no need for you to answer if you don't want to."

"Go ahead."

"Is the Blue Paladin your significant other?"

Keith almost choked and coughed instead as he processed the information. "What?"

"I must apologize, it was very straightforward of me, but I was curious about something."

By now Keith blushing, but he did his best to keep his voice steady. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "Our species can feel the emotions reverberating through different creatures. However, this is only if we all happen to be standing on the same surface. Our feet are strongest in picking up these energies. It's why we don't wear anything on them. In some cases we notice connections and during your rescue, Kiytha and I sensed a strong bond between you both."

Keith blinked owlishly at her at this information. Granted yes that he'd been glad about how his relationship with Lance had improved after finding out about his Galra lineage, but he'd never thought that they'd go past the level of friends. He knew Lance was into girls, so he'd settled with just keeping their friendship, even if it meant making an effort to numb the sadness he felt from holding back in trying to test if more could be possible with Lance.

"I'm—wait, you're telling me that our feelings are mutual? What if it's just us being friends?" he asked, not willing to hope so strongly that he had a chance with Lance.

Levina shook her head. "The wavelengths for friendship vary from the connection between significant others."

"I see."

Gently she placed a hand on his arm. "You'll be fine. I'm sure there were reasons for why you were both so hesitant."

Keith sighed. "Thanks and yeah… I honestly thought he only liked girls, so I never thought I had a chance."

Levina was going to respond when she turned to the doorway and gave a knowing smile. "You have a visitor. A good friend too."

Keith froze before he looked up and saw Hunk, who timidly waved at him with a nervous smile.

"Hey…" said Hunk.

Without delay, Keith buried his face in his hands, "Oh god, please tell me you didn't hear that last part."

Levina looked between them before she took her leave. "I'll head out now. Princess Allura wanted to ask me some questions regarding my experience with the prison."

Keith nodded in understanding, face still hiding behind his hands as Hunk came over to sit next to him.

"If you mean the part where you thought you had no chance, no, I heard nothing of the sort…" said Hunk as he gestured with his hands for extra emphasis.

"Augh…"

"Dude, it's okay. I'm here to confirm that Lance is indeed bi."

Keith looked up at Hunk, a glint of hope in his eyes. "What? Oh my—that makes sense and I'm an idiot."

"You're not. Believe me," comforted Hunk as he sat down and placed a gentle hand by his shoulder. "Just talk to him when he wakes up. After what he did for you, I highly doubt anything will go wrong."

Keith eyebrows quirked in confusion. "Wait, what did he do for me?"

Hunk's eyes widened like saucers. "Keith. Buddy. Are you serious?"

"I... am? What are you going off about Hunk? You're not making any sense."

At that, Hunk facepalmed and groaned in frustration. "I can't believe this!"

"What are you talking about?"

Hunk sighed. "Did you not think it weird how gradually everyone, including me, was coming forward to clear the air about your lineage."

"No? I kinda just thought I got really lucky all of sudden."

"I mean you technically did, but not exactly in the way you're thinking as in it's not the throw-salt-over-your-shoulder kind of luck."

"You lost me."

Hunk groaned again before getting up. "Just… think on it. In the meantime, I'm gonna whip something up in the kitchen."

Keith blinked, still at a loss in regards to the topic Hunk was hinting at. "Okay then."

A while after Hunk had left and Keith had finished his Altean practice homework as a distraction, he thought about how his relationship with Lance had grown over time. He knew it started when he'd dropped the news about his lineage, but it had surprised him how gradually in a short span of time, everyone else seemed to warm up to it and make the situation less awkward for him.

Come to think of it, each time someone had ended up talking to him, he had been with Lance just before. It couldn't possibly be that Lance had arranged all that could it? It was too coincidental to just be luck anymore.

Keith found himself looking up at Lance's sleeping face in the healing pod as he considered the possibility that maybe Lance really had masterminded all of this. All of this for Keith's sake when there was no need to. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed.

His train of thought broke when Hunk reentered the room with some freshly made food. "I'm back. Did you think on it?"

"Yeah… it's just a lot to take in," Keith replied as he took the bowl of oddly colored food from him. Taking a bite and realizing how hungry he'd been.

"Sooo…." said Hunk after sitting down with him again.

"Hm?"

"You gonna talk to him about it?"

Keith finished chewing and swallowed. "I guess I am," he said before it suddenly hit him that Hunk had been the only one coming by. "Where are the others by the way?"

"Pidge, Allura, and Coran are gathering info from Levina. Shiro's meditating. They knew you needed some space, but I couldn't stand you surviving on snacks."

Keith laughed at the last part. "Thanks Hunk."

"No problem Keith."

* * *

The rest of waiting period flew by Keith as if it were minutes and the next thing he knew, the cover of the healing pod disintegrated and Lance fell right into his arms.

"Mmm… what's going on?" mumbled Lance, his face squished against Keith's shoulder.

"You healed on time," replied Keith.

"Oh thank quiznak. Thanks f'r watchi-i-ing out f'r me Samurai."

"Anytime… Sharpshooter."

Lance then yawned, his face comfortable where it was currently resting. "Where is everyone?"

"Doing stuff. It's just you and me."

"O-o-oh, okay. 's there any food 'round?"

"Hunk left something ready for you here a few minutes aga," mentioned Keith as he pointed over to where a tray with food was.

"Ah. Bless Hunk," commented Lance happily. "Did you already eat Samurai?"

"Yup."

"How long 'ave you been here?"

"The whole time."

"Wha? F'r me? Aw."

Keith chuckled at how out of it Lance seemed. "Here, I'll help you sit down."

"Mm... thanks-s-s... "

Once he was seated, he quickly dug into the food and moaned happily at Hunk's cooking. Keith merely smiled and found it adorable.

"That good huh?"

"Of course it is!"

When Lance had finished up most of his food, and the sedatives had worn off, he was more energized. Keith figured now was a good time to ask him about the topic Hunk had him think over.

"Hey Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"About my lineage…"

"Yeah?"

"Were you the mastermind behind having everyone talk to me overtime and clear the air?"

Out of surprise, Lance started coughing. "W-w-w-what gave you t-t-that idea haha."

"To be fair, Hunk kinda helped."

Lance groaned in embarrassment before he sighed. "Yeah… it was me. Though, I was kinda hoping you'd never know? Or maybe figure it out? I don't k—" he cut off as Keith suddenly hugged him.

"Seriously, you don't know how much that means to me, so thank you for that."

"I'm, uh, um, sure—I mean, you're welcome!"

Keith laughed at how cute Lance seemed when struggling to find words to say before letting go. "Mind if I ask why?"

"Um, uh, er, well, um, it's a secret. There."

"Lance."

"Nope, not telling," he declared as he crossed his arms defensively.

Keith pouted at him, but he backed off for now. "Fiiiiine."

Lance stuck out his tongue at him before he asked, "But seriously, it's not the future right? Like 10 plus 1 years?"

Keith on the other hand, chuckled at that remark. "It's 10 times 1, Sharpshooter."

"Plus sounds better Samurai."

"Well how about me plus you?"

Lance froze before looking over at Keith, blushing furiously. "I'm… did you just… I'm hearing things. You did not just say that."

"Well... what do you think it means?" said Keith, not believing how he was sounding so calm in that moment but glad that he was pulling it off.

Lance on the other stayed silent, seeming to think on something before saying quietly, "A confession… which would be nice, or maybe just us as being the best duo at teamwork," before realizing what he'd said and trying to it back. "Not that I'm against our friendship or anything. Forget you even heard that first part!" he exclaimed as he covered Keith's ears with both his hands.

Keith smiled at how embarrassed Lance seemed, which gave him more confidence in saying his next choice of words, "It could be both, but it's definitely more the first one."

Lance became speechless. "This isn't a dream is it? Please tell me it's not."

"It's not Lance," answered Keith as he poked him in the cheek with his index finger.

"So… this means. Oh my god you fell for me! And I fell for you!" exclaimed Lance in shock as he suddenly shook Keith excitedly by the shoulders who was laughing at how adorable he was being.

After a few seconds, Keith asked, "Does this mean we're now…?"

"Dating? Together? Boyfriends? What about all three?!" Lance exclaimed with glee.

Keith blinked at him with how fast that progressed and blushed, but then again they'd been pining after one another for a long while. "I was gonna say dating, but all three is even better," he said with a warm smile.

Lance hugged him tightly. "I could get used to this."

Keith hugged back before loosening his hold. "Come on, the others will want to know that you're okay," he stated as he got up before he held out his hand for Lance to assist him.

"Yeah yeah," replied Lance as he took his hand. Upon standing he said, "Oh by the way, Raven totally matches your personality."

"What are you—wait a fucking minute! How do you know?!"

Lance grinned.

"Shiro told you didn't he?"

"He was pulling the Raven pose while meditating and I made a joke about it. I swear, I didn't expect him to get the reference!"

Keith gave him an unimpressed look.

"And then he told me how he got you into it."

Keith facepalmed and groaned. "We don't speak of my ignorance."

Lance chuckled. "Aw don't worry Keith," he said as he moved close to his face. "I'll be the Beastboy to your Raven."

In hearing that, Keith removed his hand from his face as he glanced at him from the side, pouting and blushing furiously. "I… guess I can live with that."

"Yes!" exclaimed Lance, raising his hands victoriously into the air before kissing his boyfriend on the cheek, intertwining their hands soon after as they walked out of the room.


End file.
